What IFAB laws says about Hearts disallowed goal vs Kilmarnock as referee's message to Wouter Vrancken shared
Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken was aggrieved by a decision against his team on Saturday.
Wouter Vrancken was left unhappy over Hearts’ disallowed goal vs Kilmarnock - and IFAB rules alongside a recent incident down south appear to back the Jambos head coach up.
Joe Hugill’s opener for the Rugby Park hosts was cancelled out Stephen Kingsley’s late leveller in a 1-1 Premiership draw but controversy struck beforehand, A Jambos cross into the box early doors was fired towards goal by Hearts’ Laurent Mendy and Cathal McCarthy headed the ball on its way into the net. It was ruled out by referee Duncan Nicolson after intervention by VAR official Matthew MacDermid as Mendy was deemed to have handled the ball in the build-up.
While this would mean an automatic ruling out of the goal, whether he was the goalscorer or not has been debated, given McCarthy’s substantial contact. Vrancken said on whether he spoke to Nicolson: “Yes. I just wanted to speak and know the rule because maybe I was wrong. He said, ‘I just got in my ear that the goalscorer touched the ball with his hand.’ Like I said, it's not him to blame at this moment, it's a VAR decision. So it was really strange. I'm curious about the explanation of the SFA. I'm curious about this explanation.”
IFAB rules on disallowed handball
Rules from football lawmakers IFAB clearly outline that a goal for handball - accidental or not - can only be ruled out if the goalscorer is deemed to have handled the ball himself. They state: “A handball offence is committed when a player (except the goalkeeper in their own penalty area) deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, touches the ball with their hand/arm when it is in a position that makes their body unnaturally bigger and that position is not the result of their body moving fairly as part of play, scores a goal against the other team with their hand/arm or scores immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm (even if the touch was accidental).
“A handball offence is not committed when a player heads, kicks or plays the ball with another part of their body and it then hits their own hand/arm (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards), falls and the ball hits their supporting arm, which is between their body and the ground (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team), is hit on the hand/arm by the ball which has been played by a team-mate (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team).”
Precedent for this has been set in England during Manchester United’s 5-2 win over Ipswich Town in the Premier League last month. Harry’s Maguire’s effort looked to have come off his arm before he struck the shot that hit defender Jacob Greaves on the way in. Match official Craig Pawson and VAR official Jarred Gillett determined the handball to be accidental, so under current rules because Maguire did not score directly from his shot, the goal stood.
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel, made up of three former players or coaches, a Premier League official, and a representative from Pro Ref, stated: "Maguire’s arms are within his bodyline, meaning that the contact with his right arm was accidental and not a punishable handball offence given that Maguire was not the goal scorer. The shot was clearly off-target and then deflected in via the defender for a clear own goal. The panel supported the referee’s call to award the goal, 4:1, with one panellist considering the handball to be deliberate."
Former referee on Manchester United goal vs Ipswich Town
A statement from VAR added that ‘it’s an own goal and the accidental handball is not punishable, so we recommend you award the goal.’ Debate will stem over whether Mendy’s shot was heading beyond Kilmarnock goalkeeper Calum Ferrie without McCarthy’s involvement or whether it’d have gone wide without.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher said of the Man Utd incident: "It's definitely the right decision. it strikes his hand, but striking his hand isn't an offence in itself. It has to be deliberate or lead to a goal scored by himself.
"It strikes Maguire's hand, he shoots, it's going wide and hits Greaves, so it becomes an own goal. So through no fault of the referee or VAR, they have to give the goal. It's always been the rule. It was changed a few years ago. It's clearly an own goal and it's covered in law. It's accidental handball. It's unfortunate for Ipswich but it's ironic that we're debating the decision. The only thing to debate is whether you like the rule or not."
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